I saw Tommy Cooper die live on TV when I was a kid. My Mum said something along the lines of "What's the silly sod doing now?". The cutting straight to a break, then him not appearing on stage at the end with anyone else made us realise what had happened. I seem to remember it being followed by a news announcement?
I've read that the ITN late news bulletin that night came from their OB van parked right outside the theatre, as both were live and the ITV network needed to use the same upload link from BT for both (the IBA used BT phone lines at the time to send live shows to the transmitters). I gather that the bulletin confirmed the collapse, but not the fatal outcome, although I don't know if the bulletin in question has ever surfaced anywhere since to be able to check that.
@@MrDannyDetail Every source seems to say that the ITN bulletin that night only said Tommy Cooper was rushed to hospital after his collapse, and that his death was only confirmed to the press the following day.
Yeah I was 10 years old watching it with my grandparents and we were all sat laughing thinking Cooper was just clowning around. I also remember the silence once the news report came afterwards. A bizarre and sad memory that I think millions of people must have experienced at that time too.
I remember watching Tommy Cooper with my mother when he collapsed on TV, being a nurse she know something was up. It was very sad Eric Morecambe also died on stage after collapsing
Eric had just left the part of the stage that the audience could see, and was in the wings when he collapsed and died, as was Dustin Gee when he collapsed a couple of days before his death. The latter means that poor Les Dennis experienced a fellow entertainer collapsing on stage with an ultimately fatal outcome on two separate occasions within about 18 months or so of each other.
@@johnbull9195 I believe his heart attack was on stage. I remember reading that he was in some sort of comedy or farce, and he was playing a husband sitting on a sofa pretending to be asleep to ignore his wife. When it reached the part of the script where he was supposed to speak a line again he failed to speak, so I think one of the cast ad-libbed around it whilst another attempted to wake him. Then somebody realised something was wrong and signalled to the wings and the curtain was lowered. It's possible that his actual death happened after he was moved from the stage, but I don't think he regained consciousness.
@ On 26 April 1976, four days after the end of the sixth series of Bless This House, James was on tour in a revival of a comedy, The Mating Season, when he suffered a heart attack on stage at the Sunderland Empire Theatre. Actresses Olga Lowe and Audrey Jeans thought that he was playing a practical joke at first when he failed to reply to their dialogue. When they ad-libbed to him and he still failed to respond, they moved towards the wings to seek help. The technical manager, Melvyn James (no relation), called for the curtain to close and requested a doctor, while the audience - who were unaware of what was happening - laughed, believing the events to be part of the show. An ambulance was called, and he was pronounced dead on arrival at Sunderland General Hospital. He was 62
1992 was a highly controversial year for the BBC:the disaster of Eldorado, Ghostwatch shocker, Bobby Davro and the graphic paintball episode from Byker Grove.
Repeats of the Cooper incident were embargoed for 30+ years in a mutual agreement between all UK broadcasters. Then Channel 5 decided to break the embargo. Ironically the C5 show was narrated by Sarah Greene who had fiercely protected her late husband Mike Smith's wishes for the BBC not to repeat his episodes of Top Of The Pops. What's worse, Sarah? Showing a repeat of Mike alive, happy and well... or showing a repeat of Tommy passing away in great distress while you earn a few grubby quid from doing the voiceover?
Great comment, couldn't agree more. How on earth do you get paid to co present a show full of entertainers entertaining, then deny them all the opportunity of repeat fees in the future by having a vito on repeats?
I watched that episode of 'Live from her Majestys'. I remember laughing at Tommy Cooper, I thought it was just typical of his chaotic, almost anarchic comedy. I didn't laugh for long though. I knew it had gone on too long and there was something wrong. Even though it still saddens me today, he left the audience laughing. Small compensation I realise but he left us laughing. He's still loved and revered in my house now, even after all these years.
accidentally came across the clip with Tommy Cooper several months ago, really difficult to watch, must have been rather traumatic for those who were there
I remember seeing it live too. If my memory serves me, it was the easter holiday (I was away with my family) and the same week that WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead outside the Lybian embassy.
Saturday Night Live had an incident occur in a Samurai sketch with John Belushi and Buck Henry. They were doing a sketch entitled "Samurai Tailor" in which Belushi's character had a Japanese ceremonial sword that he used to tailor a suit jacket, and at the end of the sketch Henry asks Belushi if he can break a large denomination bill. Belushi swung the sword and accidentally cut Henry's forehead open with the blade. Henry was able to return for the close of the show, but he was wearing a rather large bandage on his forehead.
I remember watching the show when Tommy Cooper died. I can remember the bit when he went down and the show briefly went off air before the commercial break started. At the time we thought Tommy going down was part of the act and when the screen went blank thinking it was some sort of technical fault and had no idea what had happened until the news came on later and announced that he had died.
I've seen Tommy Cooper's footage, and i's quite harrowing, how life can just end out of blue. Just like that...just like that.... (I can't help, but I find Tommy's catchphrase quite fitting.)
My memory recalls that the death of Tommy Cooper was reported by ITN soon after with a newsflash with Trevor McDonald. Perhaps time has distorted how I remembered it that night.
I saw him live in Margate when I was a kid. He had the whole place roaring and all he was doing was walking back and forth through a small gate. Some deep personal flaws but a natural comedian.
When Les and Dustin finished their act following Tommy, Dustin turned to Les and said "that's how I want to go, with my boots on". Two years after, Dustin Gee had a heart attack on stage with Les and died two days later. (as pointed out, the video shows a clip of Russ Abbot and Les Dennis)
Watched the programme where Tommy Cooper collapsed when I was a youth.His gags and timing were superb that night, but when he slumped down,I knew something was wrong and turned the telly over. Watching the curtain call at the end,Tommy wasn't there and I dreaded the worst. The news bulletin after the programme reported he had died,and I felt terrible about it for a long while afterwards; just a month later,Eric Morecambe also collapsed at a live show, but at a theatre that was not in front of any tv cameras, just as he took a final curtain call; Eric himself died shortly afterwards, a terrible blow to lose such beloved comedians in a short space of time in such circumstances.
They also tried two unbroadcast pilots with Paul O'Grady, one with Miranda Hart, and two one-off broadcast specials with David Walliams and Graham Norton respectively, and nothing has really gelled. For the last 20 years it's been a theoretically popular format in search of a suitable host to carry it off, and the BBC seem desperate to successfully revive it someway somehow.
It never recovered being in the hands of Jim Davidson.Whatever your views about him he did a good job standing in for Bruce at short notice in 1994 and got the job taking over as a result.Sadly the experienced producer and team also left leaving newbies in charge who couldn’t resist bringing in the mucking about even gunging contestants on the conveyor belt
Its so ironic showing Ernie Wise interviewed there on News At One,,, a few days later Eric Morecambe quipped "You wouldn't catch me dying on stage".... He didn't ,,,, Two weeks later he came off the stage at the Roses Theatre in Tewksbury after Stan Stennett's charity fundraiser then fell down the stairs with his third and fatal heart attack... A really sad few weeks in British entertainment that...
My great-grandmother grew up with Tommy Cooper, she lives next door to him. Theres a statue of him at the top of Caerphilly's town centre which is pure nightmare fuel.
Yes if you’d used the original clip it clearly shows Tommy sitting there blank then fall back.The sound people not knowing turned the volume up and the rest is history sadly.
Hadn't heard the Bobby Davro story before but I guess that's because the footage is quite rare. People may complain about health & safety but ultimately humans brought it upon themselves...
The Davro fall clip seems to have been adopted into the work safety lectures of other TV stations as I saw the clip while at an ITV station back in 2003 during my work experience there.
Real-life situations are some of the best to use for training, especially health and safety, because you can go through the run-up and identify where it all went wrong. I've done so many courses where the clips have been (not that good) actors over-acting situations that are just totally not believable!
I think Jim "it's a speed boat" Bowen caused the Bobby Davro fall... If you look carefully Jim touches Bobby D as he walks off the stage. Jim's cold hand on Bobby D tender naked inner thigh was just enough to make Bobby D quiver a little and subsequently fall forward. The heart felt cry of "oh Bobby" by Keith Cheggers still haunts me to this day.
Like many others, I too was watching 'Live From Her Majesty's' on that very sad night. The thing I loved about Tommy was his ability to make you laugh, with no swearing or blaspheming. I am not being prudish, I am just saying he was a funny man with funny bones. Just after his death I remember a story about him contacting Eric Sykes before that fateful night saying he had a beginning and a middle for his performance, but no ending. I have never been sure if it was truth or urban myth, but a story that has stuck with me some 40 years on nevertheless.
Does he actually fall onto the concrete floor? The stocks appear to be on a platform as can be seen when Keith Chegwin steps down onto the actual floor.
I saw years ago the clip of the act following the incident. The curtain was closed behind the performers, and there was an ominous bulge, preseumably where his body was. It was really creepy.
I have read about Tommy Cooper's tragic incident on live television, but never seen a clip of it until tonight, and watching the brief clip without knowing what happened next, you think he just had an accident and fell on his backside.
A slight correction at 12.10, that is Dustin Gee and Russ Abbot, not Les Dennis, although they were a double act at the time until Gee's death in 1986.
@@geoffrowlands3137your not wrong..this youtube clip is inaccurate..dustin gee did appear that evening. This clip has been badly edited .. Russ abbott was never on this edition
The description on ITN Archive's clip on UA-cam of Leonard Parkin and Ernie Wise on _News at One_ the day after Tommy's death says this: "On 15 April 1984, titan of British entertainment Tommy Cooper suffered a fatal heart attack during a segment on the London Weekend Television variety show Live from Her Majesty's. As the show was broadcast to the nation live, the audience of 12 million - as well as the production crew - initially believed the comedian and magician's collapse to be part of the act, and laughed along. The show then continued to its end, with the following acts performing in front of the curtains while attempts were made to revive Cooper backstage. It was not until the following morning that Cooper's death was reported, although the onstage incident led the Late News programme that followed the show."
I was 9 years old when Tommy Cooper died. I knew straight away that something was seriously wrong so it came as no surprise when they announced his death.
Tommy Cooper was a bit before my time but what I find even sadder about his final moments is how the audience went on laughing thinking that it was all part of the show. To me it was obvious almost immediately that something was wrong. RIP Tommy.
Very similar to American comedian Dick Shawn performing on stage and suffering a fatal heart attack. The audience at the nightclub had no idea that it wasn't part of the act, and he was known to be a rather freewheeling, unpredictable comedian so they were totally unaware that he wasn't faking it until it was too late. Fortunately there's no footage of the incident.
Thing is see, I think it's what he would've liked, because he was just to totally unpredictable and his routines included just so many apparent errors/mistakes, so it was reasonable for people to think it was all part of the act, and laugh. And he liked making people laugh so...
The clip of russ abbott and les dennis is not even from the actual show. Its from another edition of live from her majesty... dustin gee did appear that night with les dennis. Jimmy tarbuk said they had to decide quickly and just get on with their sketch..dustin was very uneasy..as for supplanting this with Russ abbott and les dennis when Russ abbott never appeared on the actual show that went out live that evening has fooled many a person who have commented on this matter
Would not fully agree that Tommy's death was "comedy gone wrong". Although someone dying onstage during a performance isn't ideal for a comedy show, Tommy knew he was a moribund alcoholic & if asked he would probably have said that if he was going to die he would like to die making people laugh
Falling flat onto your face without being able to put your hands out or move your head to the side is pretty awful to contemplate. He was lucky it was just his chin he split. Imagine falling straight onto your nose or forehead. The commentators here saying they found it funny must be disturbed, I hope for their sake karma isn't real.
I was going to mention this! Greg Page was an original member of The Wiggles and the performance was for adults who had grown up with The Wiggles. To make matters somewhat worse, Greg's microphone remained live and the audience could hear him struggling to breathe, although it seems the audience didn't know what was going on as they were chanting for one more song to be sung. The other members had to come out and say to the audience that Greg was feeling unwell, though they thought he'd be okay. And then sing another song. Greg Page survived and he now does advertisements on UA-cam imploring people to learn where their nearest defibrillator unit is. I saw one today, actually. Defibrillators in the community are now automated and they tell you exactly what to do, and they won't deliver a shock to the heart if it isn't needed, so if you feel somebody might be having a heart attack you can confidently use it even with no prior training. Please learn where your nearest defibrillator is at your workplace.
Regarding the incident with Bobby Davro, there's also the Charlie Drake incident when a set of shelves that were left loose for Charlie to be dragged thru, a conscientious labourer thought "this is a bit loose" and tightened it all up and when it come to doing the sketch, Charlie was knocked unconscious and the rest of the sketch was completed with him being thrown out of the window! 🫣
ER NO........THAT WAS RUSS ABBOT and les Dennis...... AND I AM POSITIVE HIS DEATH WAS ANNOUNCED ...LATER THAT SAME EVENING ON SUNDAY 15th APRIL.....84......I was 18 years old.....not some little kid.
I have seen the full video of Tommy Cooper's heart attack on stage and when it came to that segment on this video I actually minimised the window and I didn't want to see it again as I actually found it quite disturbing. I don't know how much of it you showed but some kind of warning would definitely have been appreciated before hand and some signal to let us know you had finished showing footage. Don't get me wrong I think videos like this are important as they show how accidents happen and what we can learn from them but some viewer discretion warning might be necessary sometimes.
The worst thing about the Death of Tommy Cooper was history repeating itself... I will have to try and find articles about it, but some years later - His Brother was performing a Tribute act to Tommy, when in eerily similar circumstances... He too suffered a Massive Heart Attack on stage and also passed away. From what I recall, though as this was published in the Tabloid newspapers of the time so has to be taken with a pinch of salt... He was also performing the same Stunt with the cloak when it happened.
I remember hearing about a cyclist who died of a heart attack while riding in an event that he'd set up to memorialize his brother, who was a cyclist who had died of a heart attack.
Not the first and it wont be the last, rhòugh they wont do a live performance fir a while. My morher always used to say she remembered how Jack Warner (stzr of Dixon of Dock Green) suddenly keeling over on live TV during a live petformance of DODG. Luckily he survived. Also Sid James died during a live theatre performance of I believe Bless This House. Finally the Late Great Reggae star Judge Dread (aka AĺexanderMintoe, who was actually white and was the only white Reggae performer to headline a show in Jamaica) who died on the stage of the Penny Theatre, Canterbury. His last words were "Lets hear it for the boys", before walking òff the stage. He didnt get too far when he collapsed. People thought it was, like Tommy Cooper, part of the act.
Zippy, Cleo, erm..Zippy... no one couldn't do impersonations like Bobby Davro. Perhaps Eddie Large. Fun fact. In professional impersonation circles not being able to maintain a voice is known as 'Davroing'.
Saw Davro an thought: yep, I can never tire of seeing him face plant the studio floor 😂 poor ba⭐rd . Cooper died while I watched as a youngster with my late grandad. I didn't realise what had happened until days later. I didn't understand what happened until I abused alcohol and smoked cigars for thirty years. Leave it be folks.
Tommy Cooper went out of this world with a bang ‼️ however; what with 12 million people watching him on a live tv show. The man’s a legend and sorely missed; although I think he would’ve been proud to know that he passed on doing what he loved and did so well! Thanks for sharing! # Pineapple Joe from Boston Massachusetts Amerikkka quite obvious by the way things are going in my country as well as the 🇬🇧 Viva La Trump and won’t it be a great relief never having to bow down to Mohamed 5x’s a day to my friends in 🇬🇧!? You can thank this election for good things happening asap !!
Less than two years later, Dustin Gee himself had a massive heart attack on stage in Panto in Southport and died the next day. My cousin was in the audience.
I saw Tommy Cooper die live on TV when I was a kid. My Mum said something along the lines of "What's the silly sod doing now?". The cutting straight to a break, then him not appearing on stage at the end with anyone else made us realise what had happened. I seem to remember it being followed by a news announcement?
I've read that the ITN late news bulletin that night came from their OB van parked right outside the theatre, as both were live and the ITV network needed to use the same upload link from BT for both (the IBA used BT phone lines at the time to send live shows to the transmitters). I gather that the bulletin confirmed the collapse, but not the fatal outcome, although I don't know if the bulletin in question has ever surfaced anywhere since to be able to check that.
Sounds very familiar...
@@MrDannyDetail Every source seems to say that the ITN bulletin that night only said Tommy Cooper was rushed to hospital after his collapse, and that his death was only confirmed to the press the following day.
My father was working with him that night
Yeah I was 10 years old watching it with my grandparents and we were all sat laughing thinking Cooper was just clowning around. I also remember the silence once the news report came afterwards. A bizarre and sad memory that I think millions of people must have experienced at that time too.
"always look on the bright side of life".....BANG..."oh Bobby"😂
I remember watching Tommy Cooper with my mother when he collapsed on TV, being a nurse she know something was up. It was very sad
Eric Morecambe also died on stage after collapsing
Eric had just left the part of the stage that the audience could see, and was in the wings when he collapsed and died, as was Dustin Gee when he collapsed a couple of days before his death. The latter means that poor Les Dennis experienced a fellow entertainer collapsing on stage with an ultimately fatal outcome on two separate occasions within about 18 months or so of each other.
Leonard Rossiter also sadly passed away in 1984.
I think Sid James died just after coming off stage too
@@johnbull9195 I believe his heart attack was on stage. I remember reading that he was in some sort of comedy or farce, and he was playing a husband sitting on a sofa pretending to be asleep to ignore his wife. When it reached the part of the script where he was supposed to speak a line again he failed to speak, so I think one of the cast ad-libbed around it whilst another attempted to wake him. Then somebody realised something was wrong and signalled to the wings and the curtain was lowered. It's possible that his actual death happened after he was moved from the stage, but I don't think he regained consciousness.
@ On 26 April 1976, four days after the end of the sixth series of Bless This House, James was on tour in a revival of a comedy, The Mating Season, when he suffered a heart attack on stage at the Sunderland Empire Theatre.
Actresses Olga Lowe and Audrey Jeans thought that he was playing a practical joke at first when he failed to reply to their dialogue. When they ad-libbed to him and he still failed to respond, they moved towards the wings to seek help.
The technical manager, Melvyn James (no relation), called for the curtain to close and requested a doctor, while the audience - who were unaware of what was happening - laughed, believing the events to be part of the show. An ambulance was called, and he was pronounced dead on arrival at Sunderland General Hospital. He was 62
1992 was a highly controversial year for the BBC:the disaster of Eldorado, Ghostwatch shocker, Bobby Davro and the graphic paintball episode from Byker Grove.
Seems Like The BBC Couldn't Escape Controversy This Year, Huh?
The BBC showing Repeats of Dads Army. Somethings never change!
Repeats of the Cooper incident were embargoed for 30+ years in a mutual agreement between all UK broadcasters. Then Channel 5 decided to break the embargo. Ironically the C5 show was narrated by Sarah Greene who had fiercely protected her late husband Mike Smith's wishes for the BBC not to repeat his episodes of Top Of The Pops. What's worse, Sarah? Showing a repeat of Mike alive, happy and well... or showing a repeat of Tommy passing away in great distress while you earn a few grubby quid from doing the voiceover?
Great comment, couldn't agree more. How on earth do you get paid to co present a show full of entertainers entertaining, then deny them all the opportunity of repeat fees in the future by having a vito on repeats?
Why was Mike Smith bitter about top of the pops
Bobby davro in the stocks was used in the inside no.9 live special...
Think series 4 of Inside No.9 was the best one.
The Ghost of Granada Studios.
I watched that episode of 'Live from her Majestys'. I remember laughing at Tommy Cooper, I thought it was just typical of his chaotic, almost anarchic comedy. I didn't laugh for long though. I knew it had gone on too long and there was something wrong.
Even though it still saddens me today, he left the audience laughing. Small compensation I realise but he left us laughing.
He's still loved and revered in my house now, even after all these years.
such a tragic end, I watched it live as a kid and though it was a joke too.
I didn't realise this happened in 1984 when I would have been 5 years old, it crazy how it sticks in the mind.
Yep. That's exactly what happened. For all of us who saw it. Terrible. Confusing. What?!
accidentally came across the clip with Tommy Cooper several months ago, really difficult to watch, must have been rather traumatic for those who were there
Lionel Blair looking quizzically with his finger in the air as if he was about to deduct he had nothing to do with it.
Lionel Blair clearly struggling to decide whether he should carry on mincing about or go and help Davro.
I saw it live it was a very good way out, it got a laugh.
Perhaps it was the way he would have wanted it: Doing what he loved and leaving them laughing.
Dying in agony, in public v passing away in your sleep. You decide.
wow 40 years ago, I remember watching this when it happened.
I remember seeing it live too. If my memory serves me, it was the easter holiday (I was away with my family) and the same week that WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead outside the Lybian embassy.
Just one minor comment - following the return from the adverts following Tommy's collapse, that's Russ Abbot alongside Les Dennis, not Dustin Gee.
Exactly what I was going to mention!
Yep, I'm guessing this clip was from somewhere else, since Les recalls vividly in interviews what Dustin had done and said that night.
Very sensitively handled. Well done.
I didn't realise Tommy Cooper had nearly decapitated Michael Parkinson! 🤯🤣
Excellent video Adam; informative and very sensitively made.
I knew about Tommy Cooper incident already from my family. Really sad
Saturday Night Live had an incident occur in a Samurai sketch with John Belushi and Buck Henry. They were doing a sketch entitled "Samurai Tailor" in which Belushi's character had a Japanese ceremonial sword that he used to tailor a suit jacket, and at the end of the sketch Henry asks Belushi if he can break a large denomination bill. Belushi swung the sword and accidentally cut Henry's forehead open with the blade. Henry was able to return for the close of the show, but he was wearing a rather large bandage on his forehead.
I remember watching the show when Tommy Cooper died. I can remember the bit when he went down and the show briefly went off air before the commercial break started. At the time we thought Tommy going down was part of the act and when the screen went blank thinking it was some sort of technical fault and had no idea what had happened until the news came on later and announced that he had died.
I thought I’d better watch this quickly before it is reuploaded, blurred and censored for seemingly no reason
Dustin Gee does a great impression of Russ Abbot!
Thank you for doing the Bobby Davro incident that I mentioned in the comments last week.
I watched Tommy Cooper die on live TV.
I've seen Tommy Cooper's footage, and i's quite harrowing, how life can just end out of blue. Just like that...just like that.... (I can't help, but I find Tommy's catchphrase quite fitting.)
IIRC that was the punchline to the sick joke "How did Tommy Cooper die?"
My memory recalls that the death of Tommy Cooper was reported by ITN soon after with a newsflash with Trevor McDonald.
Perhaps time has distorted how I remembered it that night.
I saw him live in Margate when I was a kid. He had the whole place roaring and all he was doing was walking back and forth through a small gate. Some deep personal flaws but a natural comedian.
When Les and Dustin finished their act following Tommy, Dustin turned to Les and said "that's how I want to go, with my boots on". Two years after, Dustin Gee had a heart attack on stage with Les and died two days later. (as pointed out, the video shows a clip of Russ Abbot and Les Dennis)
Watched the programme where Tommy Cooper collapsed when I was a youth.His gags and timing were superb that night, but when he slumped down,I knew something was wrong and turned the telly over. Watching the curtain call at the end,Tommy wasn't there and I dreaded the worst. The news bulletin after the programme reported he had died,and I felt terrible about it for a long while afterwards; just a month later,Eric Morecambe also collapsed at a live show, but at a theatre that was not in front of any tv cameras, just as he took a final curtain call; Eric himself died shortly afterwards, a terrible blow to lose such beloved comedians in a short space of time in such circumstances.
To be honest watching Bobby Davro smacking into the floor was the funniest thing I ever saw him do! 😂
Nobody knew about the Bobby Davro incident until Inside no 9 brought it up on their “Live” show on Halloween in 2018 (a few days before)
On before youtube decide they don't like this again to say this is brilliant as always Adam
Thank you!
You should make a video about The Generation Game with Mel & Sue, I heard it was a complete disaster & scrapped after only 2 episodes
They also tried two unbroadcast pilots with Paul O'Grady, one with Miranda Hart, and two one-off broadcast specials with David Walliams and Graham Norton respectively, and nothing has really gelled. For the last 20 years it's been a theoretically popular format in search of a suitable host to carry it off, and the BBC seem desperate to successfully revive it someway somehow.
It never recovered being in the hands of Jim Davidson.Whatever your views about him he did a good job standing in for Bruce at short notice in 1994 and got the job taking over as a result.Sadly the experienced producer and team also left leaving newbies in charge who couldn’t resist bringing in the mucking about even gunging contestants on the conveyor belt
Still better than 'Don't Scare the Hare'
Its so ironic showing Ernie Wise interviewed there on News At One,,, a few days later Eric Morecambe quipped "You wouldn't catch me dying on stage".... He didn't ,,,, Two weeks later he came off the stage at the Roses Theatre in Tewksbury after Stan Stennett's charity fundraiser then fell down the stairs with his third and fatal heart attack... A really sad few weeks in British entertainment that...
My great-grandmother grew up with Tommy Cooper, she lives next door to him. Theres a statue of him at the top of Caerphilly's town centre which is pure nightmare fuel.
I must admit I was concerned when I saw you were covering the TC incident but thought you dealt with it sensitively and fairly.
Thank you, I did my best to be as sensitive as possible
Yes if you’d used the original clip it clearly shows Tommy sitting there blank then fall back.The sound people not knowing turned the volume up and the rest is history sadly.
@@ianlacey8323 Didn’t really need the description but thanks.
@ it’s mentioned in several television reference books and I didn’t go any further with my words.
Jeez, that Bobby Davro thing could have ended a lot worse, he's lucky to be alive.
There was a stage in Coopers Alchoholism when at breakfast time he would Pour neat Vodka on his Cornflakes instead of Milk ! 😢❤🙏
Hadn't heard the Bobby Davro story before but I guess that's because the footage is quite rare. People may complain about health & safety but ultimately humans brought it upon themselves...
The Davro fall clip seems to have been adopted into the work safety lectures of other TV stations as I saw the clip while at an ITV station back in 2003 during my work experience there.
Real-life situations are some of the best to use for training, especially health and safety, because you can go through the run-up and identify where it all went wrong. I've done so many courses where the clips have been (not that good) actors over-acting situations that are just totally not believable!
I think Jim "it's a speed boat" Bowen caused the Bobby Davro fall... If you look carefully Jim touches Bobby D as he walks off the stage.
Jim's cold hand on Bobby D tender naked inner thigh was just enough to make Bobby D quiver a little and subsequently fall forward.
The heart felt cry of "oh Bobby" by Keith Cheggers still haunts me to this day.
@@LeTon75 Lay off the drugs.
@@judgeberry6071 I've never touched a drug in my life how dare you
@@LeTon75 Then you have a problem with people that do use drugs?
@@judgeberry6071 nope no problem here... People can do whatever they want it's there choice and life
@@LeTon75 That is very kind. You must be the sort of person that shows empathy for all.
Like many others, I too was watching 'Live From Her Majesty's' on that very sad night. The thing I loved about Tommy was his ability to make you laugh, with no swearing or blaspheming. I am not being prudish, I am just saying he was a funny man with funny bones. Just after his death I remember a story about him contacting Eric Sykes before that fateful night saying he had a beginning and a middle for his performance, but no ending. I have never been sure if it was truth or urban myth, but a story that has stuck with me some 40 years on nevertheless.
Does he actually fall onto the concrete floor? The stocks appear to be on a platform as can be seen when Keith Chegwin steps down onto the actual floor.
My mum watched Tommy cooper with my late grandpa her dad when he died in 1984 40 years ago omg
I saw years ago the clip of the act following the incident. The curtain was closed behind the performers, and there was an ominous bulge, preseumably where his body was. It was really creepy.
Sadly, Bobby is the only one still with us in that clip.
And when he pops up on TV sporadically, he is still funny
I have read about Tommy Cooper's tragic incident on live television, but never seen a clip of it until tonight, and watching the brief clip without knowing what happened next, you think he just had an accident and fell on his backside.
Les Dennis and Dustin Gee were going to be the special guests opening our School Fair but Dustin died.
That isn’t Dustin Gee mate, that’s Russ Abbot
Another awesome video, actually not the video, doesn't feel quite right me saying that but it is an awesome video Adam ❤❤😅😅.
12:10 Russ Abbott not Dustin Gee
Excellent documentary Adam, good distractions for a lot on this historic day (for better or worse!)
Tommy Cooper remains to this day one of the best comedians.
Don't jump off the roof dad happens to be one of my favourite novelty songs
A slight correction at 12.10, that is Dustin Gee and Russ Abbot, not Les Dennis, although they were a double act at the time until Gee's death in 1986.
That was Les Dennis and Russ Abbot wasn't it? So still not quite right!😂
You are absolutely right, thank you 2760ade.
@@geoffrowlands3137your not wrong..this youtube clip is inaccurate..dustin gee did appear that evening. This clip has been badly edited .. Russ abbott was never on this edition
That was Russ Abbott, not Dustin Gee
The show did have Dustin Gee with Les Dennis, but the clip used here featured Russ Abbott
That was Russ Abbot with Les Dennis ..NOT Dustin Gee !
The description on ITN Archive's clip on UA-cam of Leonard Parkin and Ernie Wise on _News at One_ the day after Tommy's death says this:
"On 15 April 1984, titan of British entertainment Tommy Cooper suffered a fatal heart attack during a segment on the London Weekend Television variety show Live from Her Majesty's. As the show was broadcast to the nation live, the audience of 12 million - as well as the production crew - initially believed the comedian and magician's collapse to be part of the act, and laughed along. The show then continued to its end, with the following acts performing in front of the curtains while attempts were made to revive Cooper backstage. It was not until the following morning that Cooper's death was reported, although the onstage incident led the Late News programme that followed the show."
Adam, I'm really pleased you had the class not to show the entire Tommy Cooper clip. People can find that if they really want to.
I was 9 years old when Tommy Cooper died. I knew straight away that something was seriously wrong so it came as no surprise when they announced his death.
4:24 What if Bobby lost balance though?
Tommy Cooper was a bit before my time but what I find even sadder about his final moments is how the audience went on laughing thinking that it was all part of the show. To me it was obvious almost immediately that something was wrong. RIP Tommy.
Very similar to American comedian Dick Shawn performing on stage and suffering a fatal heart attack. The audience at the nightclub had no idea that it wasn't part of the act, and he was known to be a rather freewheeling, unpredictable comedian so they were totally unaware that he wasn't faking it until it was too late. Fortunately there's no footage of the incident.
Thing is see, I think it's what he would've liked, because he was just to totally unpredictable and his routines included just so many apparent errors/mistakes, so it was reasonable for people to think it was all part of the act, and laugh. And he liked making people laugh so...
RIP Thomas Frederick Cooper.
i can say i was one of the 12 million i was 5 and a half at the time loved that show always watched remember tommy cooper's death to this day
Is there any footage of the news alert after the show on Sunday evening
The clip of russ abbott and les dennis is not even from the actual show. Its from another edition of live from her majesty... dustin gee did appear that night with les dennis. Jimmy tarbuk said they had to decide quickly and just get on with their sketch..dustin was very uneasy..as for supplanting this with Russ abbott and les dennis when Russ abbott never appeared on the actual show that went out live that evening has fooled many a person who have commented on this matter
Would not fully agree that Tommy's death was "comedy gone wrong". Although someone dying onstage during a performance isn't ideal for a comedy show, Tommy knew he was a moribund alcoholic & if asked he would probably have said that if he was going to die he would like to die making people laugh
Falling flat onto your face without being able to put your hands out or move your head to the side is pretty awful to contemplate. He was lucky it was just his chin he split. Imagine falling straight onto your nose or forehead. The commentators here saying they found it funny must be disturbed, I hope for their sake karma isn't real.
Greg Page had a heart attack as he was walking offstage in 2020, luckily there was a defibrillator available which saved him
I was going to mention this! Greg Page was an original member of The Wiggles and the performance was for adults who had grown up with The Wiggles.
To make matters somewhat worse, Greg's microphone remained live and the audience could hear him struggling to breathe, although it seems the audience didn't know what was going on as they were chanting for one more song to be sung.
The other members had to come out and say to the audience that Greg was feeling unwell, though they thought he'd be okay. And then sing another song.
Greg Page survived and he now does advertisements on UA-cam imploring people to learn where their nearest defibrillator unit is. I saw one today, actually.
Defibrillators in the community are now automated and they tell you exactly what to do, and they won't deliver a shock to the heart if it isn't needed, so if you feel somebody might be having a heart attack you can confidently use it even with no prior training. Please learn where your nearest defibrillator is at your workplace.
Regarding the incident with Bobby Davro, there's also the Charlie Drake incident when a set of shelves that were left loose for Charlie to be dragged thru, a conscientious labourer thought "this is a bit loose" and tightened it all up and when it come to doing the sketch, Charlie was knocked unconscious and the rest of the sketch was completed with him being thrown out of the window! 🫣
Arthur Lowe and Kenneth Williams died on 15/04/1982 and 15/04/1988 respectively.
You mention Les Dennis and Dustin Gee, and then show Les Dennis and Russ Abbot
Wonder what happened to Jessica martin??
I’m one of those people who saw Tommy die live on TV
ER NO........THAT WAS RUSS ABBOT and les Dennis...... AND I AM POSITIVE HIS DEATH WAS ANNOUNCED ...LATER THAT SAME EVENING ON SUNDAY 15th APRIL.....84......I was 18 years old.....not some little kid.
U think another reason why you didn't was because ITV dud not allow it to be shown?
It's easy go get hundreds of people to laugh at you. People do it everytime I go outside.
84...not good for Eric Morecambe and Benny Hill if memory serves me right.😢
Benny Hill died a few years later
Did you really think it was necessary to show Bobby D falling over 5.times … once would have been enough
That wouldn't stop people putting the clip on either dead slow or high speed and playing it over and over again😮
I have seen the full video of Tommy Cooper's heart attack on stage and when it came to that segment on this video I actually minimised the window and I didn't want to see it again as I actually found it quite disturbing. I don't know how much of it you showed but some kind of warning would definitely have been appreciated before hand and some signal to let us know you had finished showing footage.
Don't get me wrong I think videos like this are important as they show how accidents happen and what we can learn from them but some viewer discretion warning might be necessary sometimes.
This video shows only the collapse itself before returning to more-general footage, and resuming the broadcast with the next act.
I remember the moment Tommy Cooper hit the floor, I heard him gurgling, and I knew something was amiss. When the Advert break came up, I was certain.
The worst thing about the Death of Tommy Cooper was history repeating itself... I will have to try and find articles about it, but some years later - His Brother was performing a Tribute act to Tommy, when in eerily similar circumstances... He too suffered a Massive Heart Attack on stage and also passed away. From what I recall, though as this was published in the Tabloid newspapers of the time so has to be taken with a pinch of salt... He was also performing the same Stunt with the cloak when it happened.
I remember hearing about a cyclist who died of a heart attack while riding in an event that he'd set up to memorialize his brother, who was a cyclist who had died of a heart attack.
Hi Adam martyn found inside no 9 bbc two
Dustin Gee looks a lot like Russ Abbott in this? a Little too much like him...
Not the first and it wont be the last, rhòugh they wont do a live performance fir a while. My morher always used to say she remembered how Jack Warner (stzr of Dixon of Dock Green) suddenly keeling over on live TV during a live petformance of DODG. Luckily he survived. Also Sid James died during a live theatre performance of I believe Bless This House. Finally the Late Great Reggae star Judge Dread (aka AĺexanderMintoe, who was actually white and was the only white Reggae performer to headline a show in Jamaica) who died on the stage of the Penny Theatre, Canterbury. His last words were "Lets hear it for the boys", before walking òff the stage. He didnt get too far when he collapsed. People thought it was, like Tommy Cooper, part of the act.
Tv 📺
Tommy Cooper a genius who could make people laugh without saying anything.
Davro however, childish nonsense.
Zippy, Cleo, erm..Zippy... no one couldn't do impersonations like Bobby Davro.
Perhaps Eddie Large.
Fun fact. In professional impersonation circles not being able to maintain a voice is known as 'Davroing'.
Why did you not show the clip at Tommy Cooper? It was broadcast that way. Are you censoring for some reason?
repeated line at 4:27
Saw Davro an thought: yep, I can never tire of seeing him face plant the studio floor 😂 poor ba⭐rd .
Cooper died while I watched as a youngster with my late grandad. I didn't realise what had happened until days later. I didn't understand what happened until I abused alcohol and smoked cigars for thirty years.
Leave it be folks.
Not to mention Tony Hancock..... but at least that wasn't onscreen!
Tommy Cooper went out of this world with a bang ‼️ however; what with 12 million people watching him on a live tv show. The man’s a legend and sorely missed; although I think he would’ve been proud to know that he passed on doing what he loved and did so well! Thanks for sharing! # Pineapple Joe from Boston Massachusetts Amerikkka quite obvious by the way things are going in my country as well as the 🇬🇧 Viva La Trump and won’t it be a great relief never having to bow down to Mohamed 5x’s a day to my friends in 🇬🇧!? You can thank this election for good things happening asap !!
I watched Tommy Cooper die.
Live TV anything can happen.
Charlie Drake?
Bobby Davro was awful 🤮
Is he caused injuries? Possibly Safety could be at risk.
it's les dennis and russ abbott in that clip....get your facts straight duh
The cloak killed Cooper!
Les Dennis and dustin gee were in the wings. And saw the whole thing happen.
Less than two years later, Dustin Gee himself had a massive heart attack on stage in Panto in Southport and died the next day. My cousin was in the audience.